A/N: It's been a long time since I've updated, and it's a short one, but I finally got past my mental block. I'll try to make the next chapter longer, I promise. Thanks, as always, for reading!

Beth sat on the edge of her cot watching Judith sleep in her crib. She'd barely slept since Judith had become ill the morning before. Rick had been in and out checking on his daughter, but he had to gather the committee and talk about their next step where Preston was concerned. Both of them were exhausted and more than one person in their group had told each of them to take a breather, get some rest, but neither could do it. There was so much going on, their minds wouldn't let them rest.

"Bethy." Hershel walked in carrying a plastic cup and a package of snack crackers. "Eat something." he held them out to her.

"Thanks." she said as she took them and stared.

"Eat them." Hershel ordered her. "I'll stand here and watch you if I have to."

Sighing, Beth opened the crackers and forced herself to eat the first one. She'd not realized how hungry she was until she started eating and in no time had inhaled the entire package of crackers and drained the cup of the juice it had contained.

"Hungry?" he smiled as she leaned over the edge of the crib and checked on the sleeping baby.

"I guess so." Beth felt a bit stupid for not having eaten. Thinking about it, she couldn't remember when she'd last eaten or had anything to drink.

"Good." he pulled another package of crackers from his shirt pocket and tossed it to her. "Eat."

"How does she look?" she opened the package and began eating again, slower this time.

"I think the fever is goin' down, slowly but surely." he brushed hair from the baby's face. "You need to get some rest." he turned to look at Beth.

"I've tried, but I just keep thinkin' of Judith."

"She's gettin' better." he assured her. "And you're not gonna do her any good if you're fallin' over from exhaustion."

"You promise she's getting better?" Beth got to her feet and stood next to her father, looking down at Judith as she slept, beads of sweat still forming on her small forehead.

"I wouldn't lie to you about this, darlin'."

Beth just nodded and looked at Judith. Her father's reassurance that she was getting better eased her nerves, but still that fear of losing her lingered. "Should tell Rick."

"He's sleeping."

"He is?" she was surprised. He'd had as much trouble as herself sleeping.

"I drugged him." he smiled. "Little somethin' in his drink."

"Daddy!" Beth was surprised her father would do something so sneaky.

"You'll be takin' a nap soon, too, Bethy." his smile grew broader.

"You drugged me?" she stared at him, a bit angry with him.

"You need to rest." he led her back to her cot and forced her to sit down. "You can't or won't do it on your own, so I'm helpin' you."

"I can't believe you're drugging people."

"Only you and Rick because it has to be done. I'm sorry." he hated that he'd had to be so underhanded, especially with his own daughter, but they'd left him with no other choice. "Just get some sleep."

"Beth will be asleep soon." Hershel said as he approached Daryl and Michonne.

"Drugged her, too?" Michonne asked.

"Had to." he frowned.

"Better than them walkin' around like a couple of walkers." Daryl grumbled. They needed to talk about Preston, and with Rick sleep deprived, they were getting nowhere.

"We should get to talkin' then." Michonne suggested. "Carol and the others are waiting."

Walking into one of the rooms at the front of the store, Hershel saw Carol, Tyreese, Sasha, Glenn and Maggie standing around. "Your sister's sleepin'." he informed Maggie as he sat down in the seat Glenn offered.

"Good." Maggie smiled as she rested her hands on her father's shoulders. She'd been worried about Beth and her lack of sleeping and eating.

"How'd you get them to take anything?" Sasha asked.

"Had to mix something into their drinks."

"Sneaky old man." Tyreese smiled.

"Well then." Carol started. "What do we do about Preston?"

"It'd be great if we knew how many people they got." Daryl propped himself in a corner against the wall.

"You think there's any way we could find out?" Glenn asked. "Maybe one or two of us sneak over there."

"Glenn." Maggie shook her head.

"It's not a bad idea." Michonne thought about it for a minute. "A couple people could probably move pretty quietly, get some info and sneak back."

"He knew we were here to start with." Maggie reminded them.

"We've been millin' around out in that parking lot since we got here." Daryl said. "Not like we were tryin' to hide."

"So what, is that the plan?" Carol asked.

"It would give us an idea what we would be up against." Michonne liked the idea. "If we wanna fight, we'll need to know."

"Who would go?" Maggie asked, hoping Glenn wouldn't volunteer.

"I'll go." Daryl offered.

"Me, too." Michonne added.

"I don't like making this decision without Rick." Glenn hated the idea of doing something behind Rick's back.

"Majority rules." Carol shrugged. "He agreed to that when he decided to give up control."

"Still." Glenn sighed.

"Anyone have a problem with us goin' out?" Daryl asked.

Everyone looked around, but no one chimed in with any disagreements. It was decided that Daryl and Michonne would head out and do some recon on the fortified church in an attempt to gauge how many people might show up on their doorstep if they decided not to leave. They had to know what they would be up against, even if a person or two was left out of the decision making.